Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my serious concern with Medicare's implementation of the durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies competitive bidding program.

Despite strong congressional concern about the need for further transparency, the lack of binding bids during the contract process, and the improper vetting of the financials of many firms that have been awarded contracts, Medicare still plans to move forward with implementing round two of the program on July 1.

We learned that Medicare awarded contracts under the program to dozens of firms that do not have the proper credentials to serve these contracts. In other words, leaving Medicare beneficiaries without the needed access to the durable medical equipment that allows them to live with dignity during times of disease and disability.

Unfortunately, CMS has created a situation where servicing these contracts will either violate State licensure requirements or leave contracts unfulfilled, again leaving beneficiaries and consumers without access to the

health care equipment that they need. Furthermore, unqualified bids from firms that are unlicensed to service contracts create significant distortions of the bid prices in every bidding area nationwide.

I'm extremely concerned that mishandling of the bidding process is going to have a devastating impact on Medicare beneficiaries. This is a serious issue that warrants a full review of the process and a delay of round two until this fatally flawed program is fixed.

I encourage my colleague to join me and Congressman Bruce Braley in cosigning a letter to the Medicare administrator requesting an administrative delay of the durable medical equipment competitive bidding program. This is absolutely necessary to ensure that older adults have access to the equipment that they require to live at home with independence and dignity. It also is about jobs as one of the unintended consequences, I believe, but it is still a devastating consequence regarding how the implementation of round two will continue to see the loss of small businesses all throughout this great Nation. And so I just encourage my colleagues to join Congressman Braley and I in signing this letter to the Medicare administrator.

Mr. Speaker, today the White House held a conference on mental health and the importance of removing the stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment. The conference dovetailed with an announcement by the Department of Veterans Affairs that it had met its goal to hire 1,600 new mental health professionals.

Despite the positive news from the VA, the President appropriately stated:

It's not enough to help more Americans seek treatment. We

also have to make sure the treatment is there when they are

ready to seek it.

I could not agree more, for a major barrier for individuals seeking care is not just access, but the stigma that is oftentimes associated with seeking professional help--especially for our veteran population.

Thankfully, there is more we can do.

I encourage my colleagues to learn more about H.R. 2001, the Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support Act. This bipartisan, no-cost bill expands the number of qualified providers servicing our veteran population and also helps remove the stigma associated with seeking treatment through the expansion of telemedicine at the VA.

I thank the chairman for yielding.

Absent congressional action, interest rates on student loans will double from 3.4 to 6.8 percent on July 1. It's not that far away. We need both parties and both Chambers working on solutions now. We can't afford more last-minute, backroom deals and political brinksmanship.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act is a commonsense approach. This bill prevents the rate hike from happening and ends what has become an annual debate within Congress on how to set the rates for student loans.

This bill puts in place a rate that is more predictable and affordable. It builds on a proposal put forward by President Obama in his fiscal year 2014 budget request.

Now, both these proposals move to a market-based interest rate, not one set by politicians in Washington. We have a responsibility to America's youth to put forward a long-term plan for college affordability. This bill is a good first step. It will offer students the lowest possible rates for higher education by ensuring the solvency of these important loan programs. And I encourage my colleagues to join in support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, during the 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama stated that every day we must ask ourselves: How do we attract more jobs to our shore? And how do we make sure that the hard work leads to a decent living? Well, this week the House considered and passed H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act, legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline.

Despite estimates showing thousands of new jobs resulting from the project, the administration has delayed approval. Despite the Democrat- led Senate passing an amendment recommending its approval, the administration has delayed approval. Despite an environmental review process that has been more rigorous than similar, previously approved projects, the administration has delayed approval. Despite two-thirds of Americans favoring its approval, this administration has delayed approval.

It's time for the President to move from asking the jobs question to answering it. He can do so by ending the bureaucratic delays blocking approval of Keystone XL and moving forward with this vital project that will bring thousands of high-paying jobs to America's shore.

Mr. Speaker, for too long Congress has kicked the can down the road and avoided putting forward a long-term plan for college affordability. Yesterday, the House Education Committee took a strong step forward by strengthening our student loan programs and passing H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act.

Absent congressional action, interest rates on student loans will double from 3.4 to 6.8 percent on July 1. This bill prevents this from happening and ends what has become an annual debate within Congress on how to set the rates for student loans, a process that has served neither students nor taxpayers.

H.R. 1911 builds on a proposal put forward by President Obama in his fiscal year 2014 budget request which would move to a market-based interest rate. The bill would allow students to take advantage of low interest rates but also protect them with reasonable rate caps during higher rate environments.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join in support of this bill, which will offer students the lowest possible cost for higher education and ensure the solvency of these important programs.

Mr. Speaker, Americans want and need greater access to health care, and they deserve reforms that will lower costs and expand access, but without undermining quality and innovation.

These were the promises of the President's health care reform law. They were worthy goals. Unfortunately, they are not reality.

To the contrary, over the past 3 years, families and businesses have seen a 400 percent premium increase for health care. Patients are being denied coverage that physicians will not accept. Employers have slowed hiring under new costs and the fear of what is ahead.

This Congress has rescinded funding for or completely repealed eight separate provisions of ObamaCare. Key provisions of the act are beginning to collapse under the weight of their own irreparable flaws. And even my Democratic colleagues have warned of the law's looming ``train wreck.''

Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve better. Full repeal of this flawed policy is the first step to enacting commonsense reforms to actually lower costs and expand access. Only then can we enact a law that can be truly called the ``Affordable Care Act.''

Mr. Speaker, today the House Agriculture Committee is marking up a 5-year farm bill reauthorization, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, or FARRM Act.

The FARRM Act is a commonsense package of agriculture reforms that will save taxpayers nearly $40 billion while strengthening the economic health of our family farms and small businesses. The bill is the product of a multiyear policy assessment designed to modernize Federal agriculture policy and achieve substantial deficit reduction.

The FARRM Act delivers on both fronts, while offering American agriculture the tools to grow and prosper. The bill reduces regulatory burden on small businesses and makes needed reforms to nutrition assistance programs. It will help protect our forests and better manage our lands.

Mr. Speaker, we can no longer allow partisan gridlock to prevent this reauthorization from becoming law. The bill is good for the economy. It promotes jobs and growth. It achieves deficit reduction. And it secures the ability of American agriculture to continue providing the safest and most abundant food supply in the world.

Mr. Speaker, at a 2009 college commencement address, President Obama joked he could use the Internal Revenue Service to target political enemies, but, of course, he never would.

Well, today, it appears that officials at the Internal Revenue Service had the last laugh. On Friday, the IRS admitted to the political profiling of conservative groups and that senior-level officials were aware of these actions as far back as 2011.

This, on top of new revelations in the ongoing Benghazi terrorist attack investigation, one could say it's been a bad week for the White House. But it doesn't stop there. Yesterday, it was reported the Justice Department used a secret subpoena to obtain 2 months of phone records for Associated Press reporters and editors without notifying the news organization.

It has been a bad week for the White House, Mr. Speaker, but an even worse week for the Constitution, which is no laughing matter. The American people deserve answers from the White House concerning these abuses. The constitutional protections of free Americans and a free press--the foundations of our democracy--are at stake.

Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, I worked with the Congressional Armed Services Committee to include the Servicemembers' Telemedicine and E-Health Portability Act, or STEP Act, as part of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.

The law expands telemedicine at the Department of Defense by allowing credentialed care professionals to perform telehealth consultations across State lines, which is great news for our servicemembers, especially those facing mental illness. Instead of waiting weeks for consultation, these men and women can now access care without delay while avoiding the stigma that is oftentimes associated with seeking treatment.

Last year, the DOD issued a waiver to expand telemedicine and begin implementation. In 2012, the Army was able to perform nearly 36,000 teleconsultations.

Despite progress, TRICARE providers were not included in the waiver, limiting thousands of professionals from providing services. Second, the waiver

does not allow servicemembers to use telemedicine from their homes, but what better way to avoid the stigma of seeking treatment than to access care from the privacy of one's home.

For our servicemembers to reap the STEP Act's full intended benefit, the Pentagon must fully implement this law.

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of serving as co-chairman of the Congressional Natural Gas Caucus, a bipartisan group working to identify challenges and further utilizing this clean, abundant energy resource.

One of these challenges has to do with the swarm of misinformation that surrounds the process of hydraulic fracturing, the extraction process which is stringently regulated at the State level.

On April 29, after a 16-month investigation, regulators in my home State of Pennsylvania found that hydraulic fracturing, contrary to highly publicized claims, is not to blame for high methane levels found in drinking water in the town of Franklin Forks. Instead, it was due to naturally occurring methane. The same incident was used by environmentalists as an example of the dangers of fracking and the subject of numerous media reports.

Mr. Speaker, science and facts--not rhetoric and scare tactics--must guide our energy policy. The fact of the matter is that there has been no confirmed reports of groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing. Even former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has testified to this fact.

Mr. Speaker, today is National Teachers Appreciation Day. There are many factors that contribute towards a quality education, but no one factor is more significant than the teacher.

Teachers make a difference in the lives of students every day across this great Nation. Teachers work to open students' minds to ideas, knowledge and dreams, and keep American democracy alive by laying the foundation for good citizenship.

To quote President Kennedy:

There is an old saying that the course of civilization is a

race between catastrophe and education. In a democracy such

as ours, we must make sure that education wins the race.

Our Nation faces many challenges today, including a struggling economy and record unemployment. For these problems and others, the education provided by teachers can be the key to our success.

I am very appreciative to all of the teachers who have made such a difference in my life, including the lives of my children; and I urge my colleagues to take time to recognize and acknowledge the impact of teachers in our lives.

I thank my good friend from Tennessee.

What an important topic. As you have been, Dr. Roe, I have been out in the community throughout my congressional district, listening, sitting with individuals and families and businesses, a lot of small businesses. All indications are, at the very best, costs are going up, and there are so many questions that people have. Most is unknown, but what is known is very negative. It will have a negative impact on individuals and families and businesses.

I'll be careful here because, as with scope of practice, I'm with a bunch of physicians. I know even as a former therapist and rehab services manager and manager in hospitals, I know not to diagnose, but I can't resist. I'm going to diagnose. ObamaCare is terminal. It is. It is going to fail under the crushing weight of its own flawed design, and all evidence points to that. I'm not going to re-plow the fields that you all have as to what Democratic Senators are admitting and acknowledging in going public, but many of us have held concerns about this law for some time, and I'm glad that some proponents of the law are now really finally speaking the truth on it.

For example, this past week, on May 3, Investors Business Daily reported how retailers are slashing work hours in anticipation of the implementation of the President's so-called Affordable Care Act.

I quote:

Retailers are cutting workers' hours at a rate not seen in

more than three decades, a sudden shift that can only be

explained by the onset of ObamaCare's employer mandates.

Opponents of this law haven't been far off the mark when it comes to predicting the harm this law would impose on the economy, and this week's report from the Investors Business Daily is just the latest in a long list of failed promises under the Affordable Care Act. I think about each new tax or regulatory mandate and about the number of regulations that came out under HIPAA, and those of us who were working in health care, we saw the cost that that added to care. Now multiply by over 100 the new bureaucracies that there will be--so it's HIPAA on steroids--and what that will do to crush the availability of affordable health care.

The President's so-called Affordable Care Act becomes even more unaffordable for individuals, families and for businesses. I had the opportunity and the privilege of working for almost 30 years in health care, serving people facing life-changing disease and disability. I always followed four principles during my professional work, and they've guided me in health care here in that whatever we did to make changes in health care should decrease costs, increase access and make sure America always remains a place of quality and innovation, and it should be the patient who makes decisions in consultation with his physician. When I read that bill, it stood out to me that the language of the Affordable Care Act was going to violate those four principles, and we've seen nothing but evidence mounting that that is occurring today.

In terms of cost, we've seen what happens to premiums, and the American people know that because they see what those premium costs are that are coming to them. It's beyond what their budgets can sustain, and it's much more than what they were paying prior to the signing of that bill. The fact is that there are more than two-dozen new taxes that are coming. I don't care who you tax in the end, there is only one person who winds up paying the tax, and that's the consumer in the end. So that's adding to their costs.

It has redefined full-time employment to 30 hours. I have to wonder as, today, we have record unemployment and underemployment. How many more Americans are going to be pushed into underemployment? I know it's an unintended consequence, but if you're underemployed, how do you afford the costs of those increased premiums coming your way?

I couldn't agree with the gentleman more.

We talk a lot about and we hear a lot about unemployment numbers, but underemployment is a terrible story in itself. This, unfortunately, puts the wrong types of pressure on the business community to actually have people working part time, which is now anything under 30 hours and working two and three jobs in trying to make ends meet.

Access, I said, was the second principle. The Affordable Care Act-- ObamaCare--has violated access from many different perspectives. You just look at the announcement in the past 2 weeks about the preexisting condition fund. That was one of the two target groups under which this piece of legislation was shoved down the throats of the American people, and that fund is depleted. It was so poorly designed that now the President appears to have no intention of doing anything with it, so it's leaving out all the folks with preexisting conditions.

I think all of us would agree, in our vision of what we're to do in health care, that that is a group for which we want to try to find a way for them to be able to purchase affordable health insurance. Just because you're born with or develop a disease or a disability, it shouldn't keep you from coverage. ObamaCare is failing on that.

The other one I would say is the expansion of Medicaid, which Dr. Bucshon did a nice job of capturing. We're going to put somewhere between 18 and 50 million Americans on medical assistance, and they're all going to get this nice card that says they have medical assistance, and they'll have it in their wallets or they'll have it in their pocketbooks.

But the reality is most physicians today will not accept a patient on medical assistance. So just because you have coverage, it doesn't mean you have access. The folks that wrote this bill clearly were clueless about the approach that we need to take. There are things out there that we should be doing, and I think those are things that we can agree upon.

Finally, quality and innovation. The excise tax is going to stymie innovation and quality that we've enjoyed here in this country. With regards to patient choice, I just come back to one thing among many, the Independent Payment Advisory Board. The Independent Payment Advisory Board is where you've got a group of bureaucrats appointed by the President that will make decisions about which procedures are approved by Medicare.

Medicare is an area I worked very closely with. Actually, after the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, I was asked to serve on a technical-expert panel to review prospective payment for Medicare. This Independent Payment Advisory Board is going to determine and give a blessing of ``yes'' for that procedure and ``no'' for that one. That's not patient choice. That's being dictated to by bureaucrats who are unelected and therefore unaccountable.

Let me close very quickly.

You meet a lot of people that have been impacted by this early. There was one woman in particular who lived her whole life planning her retirement and was so looking forward to it. She is a smart lady. She had laid her plan out. She had worked for a company. Part of her plan was health care, what was going to be affordable. She had her company plan and had invested, and

then it was announced that the employer was going to switch over and put them into the exchange with the retirees.

This woman spent most of her adult life taking care of a brother and a sister who were less fortunate in life and needed a family member to step up and be there. This woman's retirement plan has been totally crushed by ObamaCare, and she's concerned now. As a smart lady, she went out to get some estimate of what it was going to cost her in her retirement now for health care compared to what it was before. It's completely unaffordable. So does she choose health care, or does she choose to still be there for her brother and her sister who have come to rely on her? I think there's many of those stories.

Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday, I had the honor of participating in the Walk to Create a World Free of Multiple Sclerosis. Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National MS Society, this Erie County event provided hope for people living with MS, their families and loved ones.

Nationwide, the Walk MS: 2013 campaign will include 250,000 participants across 700 cities to raise awareness and support for research and services for those living with multiple sclerosis.

Now, more than any time in history, there are more therapies in development for MS. Basic and clinical research has led to the development of many of the approved disease-modifying drugs for MS, including new oral medications.

Congratulations to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for having

trained or funded many of the leading MS researchers creating these life-changing breakthroughs.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank Lori and Tommy Straub for inviting me to be a part of Team ``Walk a Myelin My Shoes.'' Together, we will continue to work towards a world free of MS.

Mr. Speaker, in the legislative process, effective communication can help bring attention to important issues and advance good policy. Unfortunately, all too often rhetoric doesn't match reality.

Take, for example, Medicare's so-called competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment. The program was intended to reduce Medicare costs and ensure that beneficiaries have access to quality services. In practice, the system denies competition, which hurts small business providers, and worsens access to quality services, which harms seniors.

In fact, despite the program's catchy title, more than 240 market auction experts and economists have warned that the Medicare bidding program harms competition and will ultimately hurt patients.

Today I've joined in support of legislation, H.R. 1717, the Medicare Market Pricing Program Act of 2013, which would replace this program with one that's not just labeled competitive, but is competitive, and maintains beneficiary access to quality items and services.

I encourage my colleagues to join in support of the Medicare Market Pricing Program Act of 2013.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the United States Army Reserve, which celebrates 105 years of service defending our country this week.

These citizen-soldiers are actively engaged citizens in our communities and volunteers in the Army who are ready to step in and fulfill any mission. They are our friends, our family, our neighbors, coaches and teachers, police and firefighters. Reservists are in nearly every profession across every community in the Nation.

Our Nation has now been at war for a decade, yet a smaller percentage of our citizens have been in the Armed Forces. The Army Reserve offers a reminder that our Nation rests on the strength of brave soldiers who volunteer to step forward and make tremendous sacrifices.

Today, I wish a special 105th birthday to all the men and women serving in the United States Army Reserve and welcome some of them to Capitol Hill to participate in Army Day, to remind us all of the sacrifices that they make every day to defend this country.

To the men and women of the United States Army Reserve, I salute you. Thank you.